


Romana and the Janis Thorn

by LadyZoZo



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Face of Evil mentions, Humour, Near Death Experience, Oneshot, Random & Short, kind of soft as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyZoZo/pseuds/LadyZoZo
Summary: Romana, Leela and Narvin are on their way to a diplomatic meeting on Earth when Romana accidentally lands them on the wrong planet, a planet that Leela recognises all too well
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Romana and the Janis Thorn

“Oh.” Romana frowns at the unfamiliar landscape as she exits the TARDIS. “Well this isn’t Hyde Park.”

“Romana why are we in a forest?” Narvin sighs. “You didn’t accidentally land us in the wrong century did you?”

“Of course not.” Romana scoffs.

“Well then where are we?”

“I haven’t the foggiest.” Romana admits, eyeing up the fog layering the ground. She spins around in a circle and examines the surroundings. “Leela, forests are your speciality. Any idea where we could be?”

Leela spins around, mimicking Romana, and shrugs. “No idea.”

Romana sighs. “Well it was worth a try.”

“Can we please get back inside the TARDIS now?” Narvin asks. “This place is humid, full of bugs and with this fog everywhere there’s every chance we could trip and break our necks. Not to mention the fact that we have to be at the Earth commune in twenty microspans.”

“Narvin we do have a time machine, we can spare a few minutes to look around.” Romana reminds him. Then she sighs and looks over at him. “Oh but you’re probably right. Come on Leela, let’s go.”

“No.” Leela looked alert. “I… I recognise this place.”

“It’s a forest.” Narvin huffs. “They all look the same, of course you recognise it. Now can we get going?”

“No. It is not the look I am talking about.” Leela inhales deeply through her nose. “It is the smell. The sounds.” She paces over to a bush and bends down, cupping a budding flower in her hand. “The flowers. Romana, Narvin. You have taken me to my home!”

“W- we what?” Narvin asks.

“Your home?” Romana frowns. “You mean, this is your planet?”

Leela nods vigorously, dropping the flower and hopping onto her feet again. “It is! This is the forest I grew up in. I am sure of it!” Leela hops over the bush and gestures for them to follow. “Come, quickly. I wish to look around!”

Narvin and Romana share a look. One of mutual irritation at having to face the forest, but also mutual enjoyment for seeing Leela so happy. “Come on.” Romana hops over the bush after Leela and gestures for Narvin to follow.

Narvin sighs and makes his way over. “Easy for you to say. You’re not wearing robes.”

“Well this commune was supposed to be a casual event.” Romana reminds him.

“I am casual.” Narvin retorts, sticking one leg over the bush. “I just like to look work-ready all the time, just in case.”

“You’re impossible.”

Narvin starts to talk back but he interrupts himself with a yelp. Narvin tumbles forwards, having tripped on a root. He almost slams face first into the ground, but Romana grabs his hand and hoists him up to his feet just in time.

“Honestly.” Romana rolls her eyes and lets go of his hand.

Narvin brushes himself down.” Yes, well, thank you.” He coughs and looks in the direction Leela had headed. “We had better follow her, before she gets into trouble.”

“Or we get in trouble, and she has to save us.” Romana counters.

“You know, I’m honestly not sure which is more likely.”

The two Time Lords follow Leela into the forest. It’s half dark, half light, thanks to the canopy of trees covering most of the ground. The fog covers their path so they tread carefully but thankfully they don’t step in or on anything bad. It’s only a couple of minutes before they catch up with Leela, who had stopped to wait.

“Come and see.” Leela gestures for them to come over to her. She was kneeling beside a mist covered lake, the water looking almost ethereal through the hazy gas. “I once fell in this lake when I was a child. It was over there.” She points to the other side of the lake, where the bank was much steeper. “The water is cold and full of slimy plantlife. It is disgusting.”

“What a lovely story.” Narvin remarks sarcastically. Romana hits his arm lightly to shut him up.

“How old were you?” Romana asks.

“Nine or ten.” Leela tells her. “It was around the time I decided to be a warrior.”

“You wanted to become a warrior because you fell in a lake?” Narvin asks.

“No.” Leela chuckles. “I had already decided by then. I remember because I was trying to hunt a rodent with my new penknife when I fell in.”

“How sensible.” Narvin sighs.

Romana crouches down beside Leela. “You miss this place don’t you?”

Leela pauses to think. “I… I do not think I do actually. I remember it with fondness and I always shall, but… I chose to leave. I do not regret that decision. I have become a better person since I left and have met good friends. So no, I do not miss it. But I am glad I get to see it once more.”

Romana smiles at her. “That’s good then. I’m glad we could bring you back, even just for a short while.”

“Speaking of which though.” Narvin intervenes. “Is it safe, us being here? This could be before, or even during Leela’s time living here. We don’t want to cause, shall we say disturbances, do we?”

Romana shoots him a look. She knows he’s right but she doesn’t want to force Leela away from her home so quickly.

Leela sighs and nods. “No, Narvin is right. We cannot stay.” She stands up and brushes the dirt off her knees. “It pains me to leave again but we should not stay here. Or I might not want to leave again.”

Romana stands up too and smiles softly at Leela. “Alright. Well only if you’re certain.”

“I am.” Leela nods confidently and turns her back on the lake. “Come on. Let us go to this com-moon on Earth.”

“Alright.” Romana steps over to Narvin and slowly makes her way in the direction of the TARDIS. “It is rather beautiful here though, I will admit that. I love the way the fo- agh!” Romana’s sentence is cut off when her boot hits a particularly large root in the ground, causing her to tumble forwards and land face first in the ground. She feels something sharp jab into the palm of her hand as she puts her hands out to break her fall.

“Romana!” Leela cries out. “Are you alright?”

Romana nods. Or, she tries to. Her muscles weren’t cooperating. She tries to frown at this sudden discovery but finds she can’t do that either. Panicking a little, she tries to tell Leela and Narvin that she can’t move. Alas, her mouth wasn’t obeying either.

“Romana?” Leela nudges Romana’s ribs with her boot.

I can’t move! She wants to scream. But she can’t.

Leela’s hands grab Romana by the shoulders and pulls her over so she’s facing upwards. The sun glares into Romana’s eyes, but she can’t squint to make it less painful. Leela gasps when she sees the two inch long thorn sticking from Romana’s hand.

“Romana no!” She grabs the thorn and throws it aside. “No no no, please no!”

“What? What was that?” Narvin asks.

“A Janis Thorn.” Leela chokes. “It paralyses you and then it kills you.”

Romana feels panic rise in her chest. She couldn’t die here, surely there was a cure or something?

“Is there a cure?!” Narvin sounded panicked as well.

“No.” Leela shakes her head. “Wait, there is! The Doctor made one!”

“How did he make it?” Narvin asks.

“I do not know if I remember.” Leela frowns. “I think he told me the ingredients one time.”

“Try to remember!” Narvin urges. “We can still save her if we act quickly!”

“Right.” Leela nods. “Well, get me those berries, and some water from the lake. I think the Doctor needed those.”

Narvin nods and runs out of Romana’s field of view to collect the items. Leela looks around in a panic for something. “Janis leaves, Janis leaves, Janis leaves!” She reaches over Romana and grabs a clump of nettles off the plant. She winces a little as she holds them but clearly doesn’t care too much. “Hold in there Romana.” She whispers.

I’m trying! Romana wants to say. As she thinks the words though she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen. Under any other circumstance she would have yelled in pain and keeled over. Somehow being forced not to do that was far worse.

Narvin waddles over with a handful of berries and a beaker full of pond water (rRssilon knew why he had a beaker on him). “Here.”

“Thank you.” Leela grabs the beaker and shoves some leaves in the cup. Then she grabs the berries off Narvin. “Give me something blunt. I need to crush this together.”

Romana feels another stab of pain, this time in her left heart. She quickly notices that it has stopped beating and she promptly wishes she could scream, just to let out the pain a bit.

Meanwhile Narvin had grabbed a stone off the ground and passed it to Leela. She was using it to crush the ingredients together and seemed to be rushing it. “While I do this, I need you to get me another Janis Thorn. Do not touch the tip though!”

“Um, alright.” Narvin nods and precariously steps over Romana’s frozen body. “Sorry my lady.”

NARVIN I COULD NOT CARE LESS ABOUT THE FORMALITIES I JUST WANT TO MOVE SO HURRY UP AND GET THAT THORN!

A small snapping noise comes from Romana’s right and she sees Narvin step back into view. He was holding a Janis Thorn out in front of him, grabbing it from the bottom and keeping it at arm’s length. “Here.” He says. “I have it.”

Leela carefully takes it. “Thank you.” She places the tip over the beaker and snaps the top bit, the part leaking toxins, into the mixture. She mashes it in with the rock.

“How will that help?” Narvin asks, shocked.

“I do not know exactly.” Leela frowns. “The Doctor just said it was necessary. Apparently it is related to… vack-see-nations.”

Narvin shrugs. “No clue what that means, but if it works it works. It does work right?”

“Of course. The Doctor tested it on me.” Leela mashes the mixture a bit more until finally it looked like a simple, if a bit lumpy, blue liquid. She tosses the rock aside and carefully kneels down beside Romana. She uses one arm to lift Romana’s head a little before pressing the beaker to her mouth. “Drink.”

The liquid flows into Romana’s mouth and she almost wishes she could spit it out again, it was utterly vile. Leela tilts her head back and she feels the liquid roll down her throat.

“That should fix her.” Leela says nervously.

“Should?”

“Well the Doctor injected it into me. I assumed this was the same.”

“It is not the same!” Narvin exclaims.

Romana feels a hard thud in the left side of her chest. Her broken heart had restarted. She blinks her eyes and sits up urgently, desperate to move, and gasps for air.

“Romana!” Leela cries out and launches forwards, throwing her arms around Romana.

Romana coughs and loosely puts her arms around Leela. “Thank you.”

“I was worried that the mixture would not work.” Leela tightens her hug.

“So was I.” Romana coughs again and pulls away from the hug. “I’m ok now though.”

Leela hops up and offers her hand to Romana. She doesn’t take it at first but upon feeling her numb limbs she decides it’s probably for the best. Leela grasps her hand firmly and pulls her up. “Be more careful where you are walking. Did my story of falling in the lake teach you nothing?”

“It taught me not to trust you with a penknife.” Romana groans and stretches her arms out. “That was… painful.”

“Are you alright though my lady?” Narvin asks.

“I will be.” Romana breathes.

Leela nods solemnly. “I remember how I felt after the Doctor healed me. It was not pleasant. Come, we will head back to the TARDIS and you can sit down for a while.”

Romana nods and turns back to face the direction they came. “Maybe you should lead the way this time. You are the expert on forests after all.”

Leela nods. “Follow, I will take you through a safe path.”

Leela rushes ahead, making sure to move around the Janis bush. Romana starts to follow but a small flicker of movement in the corner of her eye causes her to turn around.

“Romana?” Narvin asks. “Are you alright?”

Romana smiles at the sight of a tiny red headed child playing across the lake, flicking in and out from between the trees as though she were chasing something. “I am, yes. Come on, let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> i am aware that this is kinda trash and that it's a massive mess but i watched the Face of Evil today and couldn't not write something related to it


End file.
